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After one and a half years of dilly-dallying over the prosecution
of Nigerian beneficiaries of the $180million ‘Halliburton bribe,’ the federal
government last Wednesday confirmed the worst fear of many Nigerians that it
might not be ready to tackle corruption.

Jiti Ogunye, a human rights lawyer who commented on the decision
of the government to prosecute Bodunde Adeyanju, a former special assistant to
former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his involvement in the Halliburton
bribe, said the trial is an anti-climax.

“I think they are insulting Nigerians with what they are doing.
Let them come clean with Nigerians and say they cannot commit class suicide.
That ‘we cannot prosecute ourselves,’ since most of those involved are PDP
members. I think Nigerians will understand. I think that will be better than
engaging in this showmanship,” said Mr. Ogunye, who is also the President of
the Lawyers League for Human Rights.

When asked if the government would still prosecute more of the
recipients of the Halliburton bribe, Ambrose Momoh, the Chief Press secretary
to the Attorney General of the Federation stated that “I don’t have any
information about that. I can’t say if more people will be prosecuted.”

Find out how the bribery
case began and who the beneficiaries and perpetrators are in today’s NEXT on
Sunday Newspaper.

The Magistrate’s Court situated at
the corner of Fox and Ntemi Piliso (previously West) Streets,
Marshalltown, Johannesburg is clearly in the spotlight with the trial
of suspected terrorist, Henry Emomotimi Okah.

Officials are not familiar with
the name Okah, but immediately point you in the direction if any
sentence you utter has the words “Nigerian”, “bomb” or “terrorist”.

Courtroom 12, where the action is, seats about 30 people.

Occasionally, other cases are
heard in between Mr. Okah’s, mainly while the lawyers ask for time to
read up on documents or consult with each other. All courts have a
basement cell. It is from here the accused are called up before Mr
Louw. Their appearance is preceded by the sound of keys in a lock, and
chains jangling from iron doors and human limbs. Last Friday, there was
a drunken lawyer in court; another case involved a harmless-looking old
man who allegedly threatened his wife with a firearm.

Humdrum stuff compared to the main
business of the day. The minute Mr. Okah’s name is announced, there is
tension in the air as proceedings resume.

It is apparent that ordinary
Nigerians living in South Africa have not shown an interest in this
case. Every day in court has seen just about 10 Nigerians, including
people who are apparently Mr. Okah’s relatives and seat very close to
his wife, Azuka and shield her from the newshounds.

Chris Iroala, the Consular officer
in charge of the Nigerian community in South Africa has been in court
regularly, as well as a man identified as Omeokachie, said to be from
the Nigerian High Commission, Pretoria. Only journalists from NEXT and
the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) represent Nigerian media. The rest are
from South Africa’s SABC and ETV, Associated Press, Al-Jazeera, Agence
France Presse (AFP), Reuters and France’s Le Monde.

Outside, camera crews regularly
wait for hours to have moving and still images of Mr. Okah arriving in
court; only Reuters seems to have succeeded with quality images so far.

But Mr. Okah was casual about the
entries when he testified. He said with a shrug; “I have hundreds of
books on guerilla warfare…video tapes. I don’t think there is
anything wrong with that… it is my passion. Some of these things
contained in these diaries are notes on those books.”

Okah also said an invoice being
used as an exhibit by the prosecution was sent by Niger Delta minister,
Godsway Orubebe. He said the Nigerian government sent Orubebe to him
with a quote for guns, asking him to help them get a second quote from
the South African government and that he told them he wasn’t a
contractor.

“I told them I would not help them to buy guns to kill my people,” he said.

On his alleged involvement in
bombings, he said: “I am a sympathiser of the cause. That for me is
where it ends.” Prior to this, Mr, Okah maintained in an affidavit
(read by his lawyer Rudi Krause) that the military uniforms the
prosecution maintained it seized from his home were “nothing one cannot
buy at any flea market in Johannesburg…this is nothing but unlawful
conduct on the part of the SA authorities.” Mr. Okah’s affidavit also
states that his son’s phone was “stolen by the South African Police
Services.” This was denied by the Prosecution.

He also told the court he felt the
Nigerian government was after his life and that he ran away when South
Africa police raided his home. Mr. Okah added that he only returned
when his wife, Azuka called him and confirmed that the people at his
home in Mendeor, south of Johannesburg were officers of the South
African Police Services (SAPS).

“I fled my home,” he said. “The
way they came into my home, I believed them to be assassins sent by the
Nigerian government.” Some of the reasons listed by prosecution lawyers
for opposing the bail application brought by Mr. Okah, include that:
Okah and Jomo Gbomo are one and the same person; ‘the applicant can
easily exit this country without a trace;’ ‘the applicant will attempt
to intimidate and eliminate witnesses;’ and ‘the applicant faces some
of the most shocking charges known to man. ..if released on bail and
murdered, or escapes justice, the international community will
criticise the justice system of the Republic [of South Africa].’
Prosecution maintained also that Mr. Okah’s lifestyle and numerous
properties are being investigated by police to see if it relates to
money laundering, and suggested that Mr. Okah withheld the true status
of his wealth when he gave an interview to Al-jazeera claiming he had
no money. Okah’s reply was that he did not use a cell phone as widely
speculated, and that he had no idea that he was supposed to seek
approval before granting interviews. “I did so with the knowledge of
the prison. I asked permission to use the payphones, and I did. I used
a Telkom payphone.”

Mr Abrahams said the laptops,
phones and cards seized from Mr. Okah’s house are still being analysed
by the South African Police forensic unit. Awaiting trial inmates in
South Africa are allowed to have laptops and more in prisons.

When called up to cross-examine
Mr. Okah, prosecution lawyer Shaun Abrahams said the state was not
ready to do so, as it “had no idea” that Mr. Okah was going to testify,
and was not prepared. “It would be clutching at straws,” Mr Abrahams
said, asking that the bail application be shifted to Monday.

Though Judge Hein Louw agreed that
the prosecution had not been briefed, he said with apparent
exasperation; “we can no longer carry this as a preferential matter
much longer.”

‘Suspected terrorist’ with a heart

Mrs. Okah is slim-built, and
always to be found on the wooden rows facing her husband. She comes
with a bag of food and bottled water, every day. Sometimes her hair is
neatly tied, at other times it looks like she has other things on her
mind to worry about. She is always polite to journalists, often
consults with her husband’s lawyer, and seems to be a fan of Nigeria’s
Ankara fabric.

But her husband has fears for his wife and has expressed them in his affidavit; “My wife is in danger,” he says.

His worry is apparent. The first
thing he does as soon as he is called up to the court room is look to
his left and search the room for his wife. On different days, and at
different times, he smiles, winks or just looks at her. On the day the
diaries were being read, he looked so intently at her that he stumbled
on the first step leading to the holding cells.

On Friday 15th October, just as he was led to the holding cells
below, Mr. Okah turned to his wife and lifted a finger in admonition;
“you haven’t been eating,” he said, his lips forming a quick kiss. She
smiled, briefly, and he disappeared. He is expected to return to the
court tomorrow, 18 October.

Your main task is to convince the people of Lagos to vote IBB in as next president of Nigeria. What do you have to tell them now?

Even though it is always very difficult for people to seek the truth objectively, I will simply tell them to know the truth because the day we start the quest of pursuing the truth, we start to liberate ourselves and our nation.

IBB ruled this country for eight years during which he put up institutions on which successive administrations are building. We had Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries under him but now, we are importing fuel. Why didn’t IBB import fuel? Is it possible to think of Lagos without the Third Mainland Bridge?

All these were done when crude oil sold for low prices; but what did Obasanjo do when crude oil prices skyrocketed? And you think we can just use one June 12 issue to blanket all these achievements?

The major dams giving us electricity, NAFCON, Eleme Pretochemicals, 1004 Estates, NDIC, NBC, there were so many things he did to ensure the system was working. He established Federal Environmental Protection Agency, National Housing Policy, Directorate for Food Road Rural Infrastructure, an organisation that constructed roads to villages and connected the villages to the national grid.

I am a product of Mass Mobilisation for Self Reliance and Economic Recovery (MAMSER) but today, we have graduates roaming the streets without jobs. MAMSER gave the youth hope, but which hope has any government given the Nigerian youth apart from propaganda against IBB?

The problem is that young Nigerians who do not know IBB while in power are fed with wrong information about a man who did so much for them. Primary healthcare, which many Nigerians benefitted from, was established under him. He created 11 states, 200 local government areas, and eight federal universities.

How many federal universities have been established since IBB left office? IBB spent eight years with lesser money than Obasanjo’s eight years. Murtala spent six months in power and created an impact. What impact has President Goodluck created since he got there? IBB represents Nigeria’s interest more than any of them.

Was the annulment of June 12 elections in the best interest of Nigeria?

Being a Yoruba man, I’m aware that the southwest did not support Abiola. Then it is believed that Abiola was also against Awolowo, who cursed him.

Are you saying June 12 annulment is a jinx?

If God has not installed anybody a leader, nobody can. Also, the annulment was done by the Supreme Military Council. It’s not just Babangida alone. There were lots of people behind him with guns. Nobody prays to have a military government. But all that is history now; we must not throw away the baby with the bath water.

He was fond of incarcerating Gani Fawehinmi. In fact, many believe Gani contracted cancer due to the frequent incarcerations. Do you think lovers of Gani will accept IBB’s candidacy?

Obasanjo also went to jail and he didn’t get cancer. That aside, Babangida was a military ruler. Nobody vote them into power and that is why they are called Armed Forces. Again, it’s a military decision then and he will not operate the same under democracy. Many of us don’t understand how the military operate; they take issue of security and order very serious.

So, I won’t want to dabble into what I don’t understand. All I know is that it’s a military decision, good or bad. You can’t challenge a military ruler for taking bad decision because he didn’t get your permission to be there. Let us leave military out of this, we are no more running a military government.

In Lagos, Babangida is not a popular candidate yet. If you add that to the fact that he is contesting on the platform of a party (PDP) considered non-progressive, what do you have?

It is not the public that do not like IBB, it is a few powerful people who have benefitted from government over the years. They have taken advantage of the media to drown his achievements. There is no local government area in Nigeria where IBB has not empowered somebody.

We should not get involved with those powerful people who have issues with Babangida and are luring the Nigerian masses to fight one man that has done no evil against them.

Nigeria’s corruption rating went up during Babangida’s period and we have been battling that till now. Can he deal with it if he gets elected?

Well, corruption has had its roots even before IBB came in, else Fela wouldn’t have sang some of his lyrics when Shagari was in power. But he certainly will do something about corruption. Fela told us also that Obasanjo has corruption cases to answer, yet he established EFCC.

What did you say when Obasanjo sought your mandate, did you question him? You see, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Apart from propaganda, I don’t think IBB has done anything deserving corruption charges.

He allowed, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, women and youth to express themselves. You don’t want to give him credit for the good things he did, you only want to talk about the wrong. Babangida is not God; he is prone to errors.

Would you say because we are human, we allow errors that are costly to the nation?

What about the errors of other presidents? I have not seen others criticised as IBB, and the man takes them. There are presidents that if you criticise them, you will be in trouble. If truly Nigerians are not happy with Obasanjo, then they should have objected when he brought out Jonathan.

But was it not the late President Yar’Adua that chose Jonathan as his running mate?

No, it wasn’t Yar’Adua. Let’s be honest now. It was all Obasanjo’s plan. Nigerians must know the truth. We shouldn’t mislead people. IBB gets criticised, but people kept silent about other leaders whose records are not as good as IBB. Why?

But IBB has not answered the questions people are asking about why he chose not to appear before Oputa Panel and what he did with the Gulf War oil windfall.

Was Oputa panel set up to find out the truth or to witch-hunt? What came out of the report after it was submitted? The motive behind that panel was for a purpose; has that purpose been achieved? It was modelled after the truth and reconciliation panel (in South Africa), but what has been reconciled?

About the oil windfall, you have seen what IBB did with the money. I just showed you a list of all his achievements which no other president has matched.

What about the statement he made about Nigerian youth?

The only statement I’ve heard Babangida made is his belief in the Nigerian youth. His campaign organisation is predominantly run by the Nigerian youth.

All some people are after now is just to fight Babangida to a standstill, irrespective of whether people are dying of hunger. We should check the good and the bad things he has done. If the good is not acceptable, we stay away; but if yes, we draw him closer.

In the international community, do you think he has an acceptable personality that can push Nigeria’s good, considering that young leaders are springing up?

Everybody knows IBB is respected globally. He is no pushover and can stand against any leader anywhere in the world. I’m proud to know somebody with such a wonderful personality.

Hundreds of Ekiti indigenes, including motorcyclists, popularly known as (Okada) took to the street this afternoon in jubilation over the ruling of a Federal Appeal Court on a legal challenge to a rerun election held in the state last year, which has been decided in favour of the Action Congress of Nigerian’s (ACN) candidate, Kayode Fayemi.

Meanwhile, sacked governor of the state Segun Oni, has said that it was left to Mr Fayemi to continue with projects of his administration or abandon them.

He told journalists at a thanksgiving service held at the Government House Chapel, Ado Ekiti that he has worked for the progress of the state.

Mr Oni said he believed ‘it is the duty of government to provide for its people.’

A former governor of the state, Ayo Fayose, also said yesterday that Mr Oni was a product of injustice. He asked the new governor to hold Mr Oni accountable for plundering the state treasure. An Ilorin Appeals Court ruled this afternoon that Mr Fayemi was the rightful winner of the 2007 election.

Both the Action Congress and the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole expressed joy with the ruling. They said the decision of the court shows that the Nigerian judiciary is coming of age.

The Speaker of Katsina State House of
Assembly, Ya’u Gwajo-Gwajo, on Thursday, in Katsina, called on the
northern state governments to devise means of generating more revenue
for their states.

The speaker told journalists that the
call became necessary in view of the fact that the states depended
solely on income from the federal statutory allocation.

“Most of the state governments in the
north cannot afford to pay workers salary if the federal allocation
ceases to flow into their coffers,” he added.

He noted that the state governments
could boost their revenue base if they properly harness the natural
resources available in their areas.

The Speaker charged the state
governments to establish Independent Power Plants (IPP) to complement
the effort of the Federal Government in the provision of electricity to
the citizenry.

The police in Maiduguri, on Thursday,
announced a cash reward of N500,000 for information that would lead to
the arrest of members of the Boko Haram sect.

The Assistant Inspector-General of
Police, Zone 12, Mohammed Zarewa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
that he had relocated to Maiduguri to tackle the spate of killings in
the state.

Members of the Boko Haram sect had on
Wednesday shot and killed a mobile policeman attached to the residence
of the Bauchi State commissioner for special duties, Musa Badara.

Before that, suspected members of the group had on Monday bombed a police station in Maiduguri.

“The police is trying its best to uncover the hideout of these
criminals, but our efforts are being hampered by the lack of
information,” Mr. Zarewa said.

The League for Human Rights has alleged that forceful and early marriages are still practised in Yobe State.

Tamwakat Golit, the
Project Coordinator of the organization, told the News Agency of
Nigeria, in Damaturu on Thursday, that such marriages usually made the
girls not to complete their education. She claimed that in spite of the
campaign for free and compulsory basic education by the state
government, girls in the villages still suffered forceful and early
marriages.

Mrs Golit called on the state House of Assembly to complement the
executive arm of government in fighting the menace. According to her,
the group was building the capacity of women in Bauchi, Yobe and
Katsina States by educating them on human rights violations.

Participants at the
on going Seventh African Development Forum in Addis Ababa have accused
developed nations of paying lip service to funding Africa’s efforts at
combating climate change.

Speaker after
speaker noted that while Africa contributes barely four per cent of
carbon emissions, the continent bears the brunt while those whose
actions endangered the planet remain reluctant at financing the process
that will mitigate the disaster.

Jose Endundo, the
minister of environment, nature conservation and tourism in the
Democratic Republic of Congo who spoke on the theme: Africa and
international climate change negotiations, said previous commitments
contained in the Kyoto protocol and at the Conpenhagen conference must
be met immediately.

“Africa will no
longer tolerate the alibi of using governance issues like transparency
and legitimacy as a pretext to efforts at checking the consequences of
climate change in Africa,” he said.

Mr. Endundo warned
that if the parties concerned do not deploy the required funding to
check the menace of global warming, the number of ecological migrants
would swell to 200 million in the next three decades.

“Common sense show that we can no longer have the rich on one hand and the poor on another.”

Mr Endundo said
historical facts, and fairness require that the advanced nations
provide the technology, the capacity and the funds needed to ensure
sustainable development in Africa in the face of climate change.

In his
contribution, Peter Ekweozoh, an assistant director in the federal
ministry of finance in Nigeria, said as a member of the negotiating
team to the climate conference, he disagrees with the notion that
Africa lacks the capacity to fight climate change.

He noted that for
decades Africa has come to negotiations expecting the European and
American partners to provide critical help on issues, but such help
hardly comes.

Mr Ekweozoh said
the only way out is for the continent to acquire the requisite
technology that will ensure that Africa consumes its quota on
emissions.

“The technology to grow is in the public domain. We must use it to build industries and provide jobs for our people.”

However, Ako Amadi,
the executive director of Nigeria’s Community Conservation and
Development initiative, told NEXT that he is disappointed at Mr
Ekweozoh’s submission that Africa has the capacity which is domiciled
outside the continent.

A retired marine biologist from the Institute of Oceanography,
Lagos, Mr Amadi said Mr Ekweozoh failed to consider the fact that
capacity is an institutional matter, and research institutions have
been destroyed, at least in Nigeria.

The pharmaceutical
industry remains unregulated despite existing laws and enforcement
agencies guiding the manufacturing, importation and distribution of
drugs in the country, the national chairman of the Nigerian Association
of Industrial Pharmacists (NAIP), Lolu Ojo, has said.

Speaking during the
NAIP interactive session held yesterday at the Tahir guest palace in
Kano, Mr Ojo said Nigerian pharmaceutical firms were not contacted to
join the proposed Affordable Medicine for Malaria (AmFm).

He said the
country’s economy would suffer if foreign firms are allowed to ship
anti-malaria drugs to be sold at less than N100 per dose.

“The objective of
the project is commendable, but the implication of the execution of
this project will be disastrous for the industry. None of the existing
companies is considered competent to be engaged for the manufacturing
of these products,” he said.

“The billions of
doses will be produced in foreign countries and shipped to Nigeria for
consumption. The country derives no benefit. Besides, no one considers
the fate of companies producing and selling the anti-malarial in the
country; their business, staff and future. It is a pathetic story.” He
lamented the government’s lukewarm attitude to the industry, saying
government presence is only felt in the amount of charges, levies and
sundry underhand dealings against the indigenous pharmaceutical
industries.

Left undone

To buttress his
point, he cited the fourth phase of the petrochemical industry that was
supposed to serve as a source of raw materials for the pharmaceutical
industry, that has remained in the pipeline.

“It is a pity that
we have left undone the fundamental actions needed to propel Nigeria in
the world map in this sector,” he said.

He further listed
nonexistent patronage from the government, fake and substandard drugs,
rising cost of production as well as the chaotic distribution of drugs
in the country as some of the problems besetting the pharmaceutical
industry in Nigeria.

He lamented that
the pharmaceutical industry is not as vibrant as it is supposed to be,
adding that it is appalling that the total volume in terms of turnover
is far less than $1 billion.

He used India as
reference point, saying it is a country that took decisive steps to
develop its pharmaceutical industry, which has eventually paid off .

“The Indian domestic market in 2008 was worth $11 billion and it is projected to hit the $15billion mark by 2012,” he said.

In 2007 -2008, India exported drugs worth $7.5 billion to the rest of the world.

The governor of Edo State, Adams
Oshiomhole, has called on the leadership of the Nigeria Police to work
with his government in its effort to stem the tide of kidnapping, armed
robbery and other crimes in the state.

Mr. Oshiomhole made the call when a
delegation of paramount rulers from Esan land, in Edo central
senatorial district, led by Ehizogie Ailogierio I, the Enogie of
Igueben, visited him at the government house to protest what they
called marginalization, particularly from the monthly security vote to
councils, exclusion from the recent visit by Edo delegation to the
presidency over erosion problem and keeping them in the dark over
developments in the state.

The governor said he has warned council
chairman not to use their security vote to supplement police activities
as they are placed on salary and allowances in addition to being
equipped to discharge their duties by the federal government.

Mr. Oshiomhole said the federal
government alone pockets a large chunk of about 52.6 percent of the
federation account, while 47.4 is shared between the 36 states, the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the 774 local government areas
across the country. He said the federal government, apart from
collecting the lion share, has been unable to meet its security
obligations to the people.

“We are forbidden under the
constitution from setting up state police, we have no say whatever on
who gets posted to Edo State; we have no say on who gets promoted, who
gets demoted, who gets punished and the same thing too on the state
security service,” he said.

No value for money

He said his government had provided
over 100 patrol vehicles and a mandate on the police to collect fuel
from designated petrol stations which costs are paid for on monthly
basis, yet at every robbery attack the police would say they have no
fuel in their vehicles.

“Unfortunately whereas the federal
government has exclusive monopoly of control of security apparatus, we
who live in the state which have no control we are victims of
insecurity and in some levels it is purely academic if we are to simply
fold our arms just to remind the federal government that they have the
obligation under the constitution to protect lives and property,” he
said.

He said the people of the state were
not getting the value of the huge sums of money being expended monthly
by the state government to assist the police to combat crime.